Me: yes, it’s still available

[email protected]

Me: yes, it’s still available Them: never to be heard from again

[email protected]

Me: no, sorry I just sold it to someone else.
Them: I’ll come pick it up in half an hour.

[email protected]

To be fair, this one is common on Facebook because it’s the stupid top auto reply thing that is way too easy to fat finger when browsing listings

AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet

That doesn’t explain why people have done it on Craigslist since before Facebook existed, where they have to open an email client, type it out, and send it.

AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet

I add this to my listings

“If the post is still up, the item is still available. I will remove the post as soon as it is no longer available. If you message me and ask me if it’s available, I will block you.”

And then I block them.

[email protected]

“Is this item still available” is usually the default text when you go to respond to a listing.

AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet

Not on Craigslist it’s not! I don’t use Facebook ~~marketplace~~ anything.

[email protected]

Because they assume that the seller is not The Perfect Human and remembers removing the ad once they’ve sold the thing?

[email protected]

Sure, sometimes people leave ads open after the item is no longer available. But only asking if it’s available is still an obnoxious waste of time. The first message from a potential buyer should have something useful in it. Further contact info, meetup availability, clarifying questions, an offer if the price isn’t firm, etc.

Maybe lead with, “If this is still available, blah blah blah” if it makes the buyer feel better. The buyer probably has all that in mind when they decide to contact the seller anyway, so they can take 30 seconds to include it in the first message and actually get the process moving instead of holding it up for a one-word reply from the seller.

If you buy enough items that stale ads are actually taking up a meaningful amount of your time, then copy-paste as needed.